A tiny Jersey Shore town is prepping for summer traffic by installing parking meters for the first time ever.
Six-block-long Diamond Beach, a 0.157 square-mile unincorporated community of around 200 full-time residents in Lower Township in Cape May County, is introducing 160 seasonal meters that require cashless, paid parking, New Jersey Advance Media reported.
On Monday, Lower Township Committee in Cape May County unanimously passed the ordinance in an effort to spark more vehicle turnover and help stabilize taxes by bringing in $150,000 and $175,000 annually.
“I’ve had cars parked across the street and next door to me that don’t move for a week,” 50-year Diamond Beach resident Nancy Hollingsworth told the outlet.
Township officials also hope the meters limit confrontations between residents and beachgoers.
“Some people that live [in Diamond Beach] took it upon themselves to say, ‘Hey, you can’t park in front of my house,’ and took steps to do that by putting up their own signs, which…is a zoning violation,” Township Administrator Michael Laffey told the outlet.
At Monday’s meeting, a five-year contract with ParkMobile, the cashless app already used in about 15 Jersey Shore towns, was also approved.
The cost of parking at the new meters — which will be in effect from May 15 to Oct. 15, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. — hasn’t been set yet.
